Mideast economy spurs strife

Uncertain future, jobs at the heart of recent discord

by Brian Murphy - Jan. 31, 2011 12:00 AMAssociated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Arab leaders have only to look to the streets of Cairo to understand what has prompted the demonstrations and discord: a population of 18 million, with about half younger than 30 and no longer content to have modest civil-servant jobs as their top aspiration.

One protester in Cairo waved a hand-drawn copy of his university diploma amid clouds of tear gas and shouted what may best sum up the unrest: "Jobs!"

"The regimes and the leaders are the ones under fire, but it's really about despair over the future," said Sami Alfaraj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies. "The faces of this include the young man with a university degree who cannot find work, or the mother who has trouble feeding her family."

A narrative of economic injustice has surrounded the protests from the beginning.

 In Yemen, the poorest nation on the Arabian Peninsula, sporadic riots have forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh into quick economic concessions, including slashing income taxes in half and ordering price controls on food and basic goods. Saturday, a small group of marchers in San'a clashed with police and were dispersed.

 On Friday in Jordan, thousands of marchers clogged streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai and call for measures to control rising prices and unemployment. King Abdullah II has promised reforms, and the prime minister announced a $550 million package of new subsidies for fuel and staple products.

 Syria's authoritarian regime remains in firm control but has taken gradual steps to open up the economy.

 This month, Kuwait's emir pledged more than $3,000 and free food coupons.

What feeds the flames is common across much of the Arab world: young populations, a growing middle class seeking more opportunities, and access to websites and international cable channels that have eroded the state's hold on the media.

There are no clear signs on whether more protests could erupt.

Earlier this month, security forces in Algeria clashed with opposition activists staging a rally apparently inspired by neighboring Tunisia. In Mauritania, a businessman died after setting himself ablaze in a protest against the government.

A state-backed newspaper in Abu Dhabi, the National, ran interviews from four men from across the Middle East describing their trouble.

One Syrian, Khaled Kapoun, 33, who has an English literature degree from Damascus University, said he cannot find a teaching job or afford to get married.

"I keep hoping that tomorrow a job will come along," Kapoun said.

High Arab officials have expressed unusual candor.

"The Tunisian revolution is not far from us," Amr Moussa said in his opening address to Arab League members this month. "The Arab citizen has entered an unprecedented state of anger and frustration."